I Should Have Seen It Coming

“I should have seen it coming.”

My favorite aspect of my job is meeting one on one with senior leaders. Especially when they have issues. When God is doing something in their lives, in particular their work. It’s a privilege to listen. To pray. And then see how I can coach or encourage them through their issue.

Such was the case this week when I met with a leader who found himself on the outside looking in. “I should have seen it coming” said it all.

Have you been there? A coworker wants your job. Your boss’ peer is jealous. Or maybe your boss has it out for you. Initially, you didn’t see it coming. You were working hard, you were busy, you were trying to do your work with excellence. Then you begin to notice them undermining your work. They become resentful, even bitter towards you. You begin to lose trust in them and them in you. More and more conversations become adversarial. It starts eating at you. You notice that you are becoming more negative with other coworkers. The whole process causes you to start disliking your work. It may even cost you your job.

Have you been there? At least some aspects of what I described? If you haven’t, you’re young and you will. The workplace can bring out the worst in people. We are all sinners, we are all prone to behavior that, looking back, we are not proud of.

So, how can we get it right? As leaders, who can we look to as a role model?

Belteshazzar! You don’t know him? Maybe you know him better as Daniel. Daniel was a phenomenal leader. At a very young age, he was selected by the King’s chief to be trained for three years to enter the King’s service. The King was looking for young men who were very smart, well-informed and quick to understand. Daniel was also a devout believer in our God. And he was determined to do the right thing, no matter what. And I mean, no matter what (maybe you heard his Lion’s Den story). Daniel exudes integrity.

So, if you are looking for a mentor. If you are looking for a coach. Look no farther. The first six chapters of Daniel will teach you what a biblical leader looks like.

David Roth has been the president and CEO of Workmatters since October, 2003. Workmatters is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in Northwest Arkansas in 2003 with a mission is to help people pursue God’s purpose for their work. Since then, Workmatters has been used to impact thousands of leaders in Northwest Arkansas and across the U.S. Prior to leading Workmatters, Mr. Roth was vice president, sales and marketing for J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Before joining J.B. Hunt in 1999, David was the senior vice president of marketing for Manugistics, a supply chain management software provider in Maryland and vice president of marketing for American Software in Atlanta, Ga. He also has nine years of supply chain management experience with McKesson Corporation in San Francisco, Calif. and Harrison, Ark. David has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas. He resides in Fayetteville, Ark. with his wife, Theresa and has two sons, Dylan and Tyler.